


midnight tinkering

by Trashy_Cannot



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25387135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashy_Cannot/pseuds/Trashy_Cannot
Summary: Wraith wakes up one evening for a glass of water, only to find a fellow Legend up as late as her.
Relationships: Wattson | Natalie Paquette/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	midnight tinkering

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything for this ship yet, and while I still stan Lobalore with my whole heart, I figured I would make something cute for these two.

Waking up in the middle of the night with enough sweat to trap you in a heat cocoon is never a comfortable experience, but when you’ve been through it countless times, you tend to brush it off. The occasion tends to be less frightening and more annoying.

Wraith just wished that it didn’t have to happen the night before a match.

Getting up from her bed, she wasted no time to follow her cool-down routine, making a beeline to the kitchen and grabbing some water from it. 

Tossing the liquid down her gullet was the only thing that broke the silence she was in, outside of the void speaking to her. 

Well, it was silent until she picked up on faint buzzing in the common area.

Wraith stood at the threshold between the kitchen and the common area, her gaze falling onto one of her fellow Legends.

Natalie “Wattson” Pacquette sat on the single couch, tinkering with devices. There was a focus in her eyes that wasn’t unfamiliar to Wraith, but it seemed more intense than usual. The periodic buzz of whatever tool was in Wattson’s hands sounded like Morse code, a subtle language to technical working that Wraith couldn’t bother to decipher.

“I may have these earmuffs on, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.” Wattson whispered, not bothering to turn around.

“I just-I just came out to get some water.” 

Wattson nodded to herself, continuing, “I’m fixing some of my fences. It almost didn’t catch Pathfinder when he was trying to enter our building.”

At this point, Wraith would usually move on, but there was something fascinating in seeing a scientist invested in their work and enjoying it. So, she took a seat next to Wattson, staying a respectable distance away from her.

“I think some of the wiring has worn down from how much I’ve used these.” Wattson chuckled. “I should have created some spares so I wouldn’t have to stay up so late before a match.”

“You...haven’t slept yet?”

“No, not yet. Can you help me with this? I’m almost done.” 

Despite knowing that Wattson couldn’t see her in her peripherals, Wraith nodded anyway. She reached forward, offering help.

“Thank you, just hold the base in place while I solder this.” Wattson murmured, her eyes never leaving her tools and fence.

Wraith knew that electricity and its various rules and intricacies fascinated Wattson - hence her namesake - but she didn’t expect for it to be so integral to her. Wattson’s hands were precise and gentle, and while her eyes darted around in the games, here, it only moved when she had to grab another tool. She was incredible.

However, in her lack of attention, a bolt of electricity darted from the base of the fence and into Wraith’s bracer, shorting it out and sending a shock of pain throughout her body, a cacophony of voices filling her head in milliseconds.

The woman stood up from the couch and cradled her arm, hissing out half-hearted swearwords.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Wraith, I must’ve pressed two conductive surfaces close to each other, give me a second to close this and I will help.” Wattson spoke, hurrying her once slow and methodical process into a practiced, almost surgical patchwork, and put her fences away.

The immediate pain in Wraith’s arm subsided, only to be replaced with a dull burning sensation that sent tingles up her spine.

“The first time you get hurt like this can be a little scary. Here, show me your arm.”

Wraith listened, holding out her arm. The bracer that usually hummed with life was now stagnant. The shock must’ve shorted it out.

Wattson pulled at it. Wraith yanked her arm back.

“I’m sorry, Wraith.”

“Just...Just tell me when you’re about to do something.” Wraith sighed. “I trust you. This means a lot to me, is all.”

Nodding, Wattson pulled once more on the bracer and rolled up Wraith’s pajama sleeve. Beneath it was her usual skin, interrupted by an almost-floral pattern of scarred skin. It wasn’t large by any means, but it was substantial. The electrical engineer injected a syringe into Wraith’s wrist, before starting to apply a bandage around the forearm.

Wraith watched her do it with ease, like she’s done it a thousand times before. Looking up, Wraith spotted a similar scar on her chek, partly obscured by her hair.

“Wattson…”

“You can call me Natalie, it’s only fair after...well, this.” she giggled, her gentle hands continuing their work.

“Natalie.” Wraith tried out the name. She already knew it, but it was another situation to actually say it. “You’ve-You’ve had this happen before, haven’t you?” 

The woman in question glanced up for a moment to reach Wraith’s gaze, only to look back down.

“You noticed my Lichtenberg scar. But yes, it has. Trust me, it hurts much more on your face than it does on your arm.”

“...Right.”

Natalie’s first aid was finished in due time, as Wraith pulled her arm back to sigh in relief. The pain, while there, was mostly ignorable. Her midnight compatriot, however, seemed to move on almost immediately, picking up the bracer from between them and beginning to disassemble it.

“Wait Natalie-”

“Sorry, I’m sure this is very useful to you, I just wanted to fix it.” 

Wraith smiled, she knew that, but it still felt endearing to hear it. “No, you're fine. I was going to say that it’s void tech.”

“Oui. I’ve had some experience, but not much. Luckily for you, mon amie, I’m sure I just need to reboot it manually after the shortage.”

“You really know your way around tech, don’t you?”

“Of course! I did build the ring after all.” Natalie tilted her head to get a better angle of the bracer. “Sorry if it caused you to lose a match.”

“It has.”

Natalie froze her tinkering.

“I mean- It has, I wasn’t trying to insult you or anything. It stings, is all.” Wraith corrected, pinching herself for how blunt she was.

Wraith glanced over to Natalie every now and then, watching her move wires aside and stare at chips, electrical nodes, and who knows what else that resided in the tech. Even with her supposed inexperience with void technology, Natalie seemed to know her way around it all. It took around twenty minutes for her to screw back in the first screw she undid, but by that point, Wraith was sure it was fixed.

Holding out her previously scarred arm, Wraith smiled encouragingly at Natalie.

“Are you sure you want to put this over your scar? It might hurt you more.”

Wraith listened to the voices. The overwhelming majority seemed fine with it. “I’m sure.”

The bracer was slid on, and if Wraith was being honest, it hurt like a bitch. The bracer felt tighter than usual, no doubt because of the bandages around her arm, and because of that, Wraith had to quickly adjust its buckles before she had the other Legends awake with her swears.

Looking up, Wraith found Natalie’s gaze locked on her.

Blushing, the two looked away.

“Um, thank you for helping me with my fences. I hope they protect us tomorrow.” Natalie murmured.

“Right. Thanks for fixing my bracer.”

Natalie’s smile made Wraith’s heart skip a beat, and the voices in her head had her scrambling to leave the couch.

“Goodnight, Natalie.”

“Bonne nuit, Wraith.”

* * *

The match the next day was surprisingly good for them, considering that they were both half-asleep and Wraith was fighting with a recently injured arm. The fences did work, which allowed Wattson and Wraith to escape a house as it was pushed into by a Caustic and his team. Unfortunately, they didn’t survive for long after, as Wraith became a human shield for Wattson after their team was caught off guard.

After the match, Wattson visited her newfound friend in the medical bay, bringing a Croque monsieur to her. It was like they both had a perpetual blush on their faces as they ate, concerning Ajay enough to have their temperatures checked. If Wraith was being honest, she didn’t really understand how Natalie could enjoy the dish, but she ate it out of politeness. Besides, it gave both of them an excuse to hang out longer than they really needed to.

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god these bitches gay! good for them, good for them!
> 
> Detail Notes:  
> -I hc that Wraith has occasional nightmares and has to get up and drink some water afterwards.  
> -Wattson's very attentive, and even though she wears earmuffs (which I imagine helps with sensory overload, but I'm not an expert on these things) she hears super duper well.  
> -I imagine that the scar Wraith gets here isn't like. HUGE. But it still looks big enough to be a passable tattoo. Also, matching Darksparks scars hell yeah  
> -This fic was also sort of an idea of when Wattson would properly introduce herself to Wraith and let her use her real name. I'd imagine that at this point they've played a few matches together but haven't like. Spoken.  
> -On the note of names, since no one has ever used Wraith's name, I didn't want to set up a weird conflict with canon. Granted this is fanfiction but I still want it somewhat grounded in reality.  
> -Fun fact, whenever you're referring to a female friend in French (ik, it's gendered that way because. french) you still use mon because there's a vowel after it, but instead of spelling it as "ami" you spell it as "amie". Four years of French, everyone (and two of them were for French 1).  
> -On the note of French class, I actually learned of Croque monsieurs from the food unit. Bro. Those things look bland as hell. Just saying.  
> -But yes these two would be blushing to the point of Lifeline thinking they're running a fever. They're gay and yearning.
> 
> Anyway. Thank you for reading! I'd appreciate comments, kudos, and shares, but as is the nature of fanfiction, I can't force you. So...until next time!


End file.
